Field of the Disclosure
The technology of the disclosure relates to distributed antenna systems and alternative powering and connectivity architectures therefor.
Technical Background
Wireless communication is rapidly growing, with increasing demands for high-speed mobile data communication. “Wireless fidelity” or “WiFi” systems and wireless local area networks (WLANs) are being deployed in many different types of areas to communicate with wireless devices called “clients,” “client devices,” or “wireless client devices.” Distributed antenna systems are particularly useful when deployed inside buildings or other indoor environments where client devices may not otherwise be able to receive radio frequency (RF) signals from a source.
One approach to deploying a distributed communications system involves the use of RF antenna coverage areas, or “antenna coverage areas.” Antenna coverage areas can have a relatively short range from a few meters up to twenty meters. Combining a number of access point devices creates an array of antenna coverage areas. Because the antenna coverage areas each cover small areas, there are typically only a few users per antenna coverage area. This minimizes the amount of bandwidth shared among users.
One type of distributed communications system for creating antenna coverage areas, called “Radio-over-Fiber” or “RoF,” utilizes RF signals sent over optical fibers. Such systems can include a head-end station optically coupled to multiple remote antenna units that each provide antenna coverage areas. The remote antenna units each include RF transceivers coupled to an antenna to transmit RF signals wirelessly, wherein the remote antenna units are coupled to the head-end station via optical fiber links.
It may be desired to provide such optical fiber-based distributed communications systems indoors, such as inside a building or other facility, to provide indoor wireless communication for clients. In such cases, power for the remote antenna units on each floor is often provided from an intermediate distribution frame (IDF) at each floor. Because the remote antenna units may be located at long distances from the IDF, power must be also conveyed over long distances from the IDF to the antenna units. Long power transmission distances lead to high voltage drops, which increases the power requirements for the IDF, as well as the voltage ratings for the transmission cables.